Physician Satisfaction With Surgical Pathology Reports: A 2-Year College of American Pathologists Q-Tracks Study

2008 ◽  
Vol 132 (11) ◽  
pp. 1719-1722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raouf E. Nakhleh ◽  
Rhona Souers ◽  
Stephen G. Ruby
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Physician Satisfaction ◽  
Surgical Pathology ◽  
Global Measure ◽  
Pathology Laboratory ◽  
Entire Cohort ◽  
Report Turnaround Time ◽  
Pathology Reports

Abstract Context.—There are multiple elements that can be measured to assess the quality of a surgical pathology laboratory. Overall customer satisfaction is an excellent “global” measure, because it highlights the unique insight of laboratory performance from the users' perspective. Objective.—To measure customer satisfaction with surgical pathology reports. Design.—This study was based on a subscription Q-Tracks study. Voluntary participants were asked to distribute and collect a minimum of 25 surveys per quarter from their clients. Four parameters were graded, which included overall satisfaction, report turnaround time (TAT), completeness, and style on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). Each laboratory submitted quarterly data to the College of American Pathologists, where the data were tabulated and analyzed. Each laboratory could compare their performance in all 4 measures against the entire cohort or a selected subgroup of laboratories. Overall customer satisfaction with surgical pathology reports and 3 subcategories of report TAT, completeness, and style were the main outcome measures. Results.—This study ran during 2004 and 2005, with 41 and 33 participant laboratories, respectively. The median score for overall satisfaction, TAT, completeness, and style were 4.57, 4.31, 4.62, and 4.64 in 2004, and 4.64, 4.56, 4.65, and 4.68 in 2005, respectively. Most laboratories reported results for 4 quarters or fewer. There was no statistically significant change in overall satisfaction over time. Conclusions.—Overall satisfaction scores for surgical pathology reports as well as satisfaction with report TAT, completeness, and style were high. Report TAT received the lowest scores of all parameters.

Improving the Quality of Surgical Pathology Reports for Breast Cancer: A Centralized Audit With Feedback

2008 ◽  
Vol 132 (9) ◽  
pp. 1428-1431
Author(s):  
Ronald Onerheim ◽  
Pierre Racette ◽  
André Jacques ◽  
Robert Gagnon
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Resection Margin ◽  
Lymphatic Invasion ◽  
Surgical Pathology ◽  
Breast Cancer Surgery ◽  
Pathology Report ◽  
Good Communication ◽  
Quality Of Reports ◽  
Pathology Reports

Abstract Context.—Good communication of pathologic characteristics of a malignancy is crucial to therapy choices and accurate prognostication. The information must be easily retrieved from a surgical pathology report. Objectives.—To evaluate, first in 1999, the quality of surgical pathology reports for segmental breast resections for cancer in Quebec hospitals. Subsequently, to reevaluate, in 2003, the same indicators to determine if the first surveillance, with feedback, was associated with an improvement in the quality of the reports. Design.—All Quebec hospitals performing the preset number of 20 or more segmental breast resections for cancer in 1999 and 2003 participated. A committee of pathologists, after review of the literature, chose 7 diagnostic elements deemed vital to a surgical pathology report for conservative breast cancer surgery. Medical archivists in each institution were instructed on how to retrieve the data. The main outcome measure was the presence or absence of the diagnostic information clearly presented on the surgical pathology report. Results.—Fifty-one hospitals participated in 1999 and 50 in 2003. Overall, conformity improved from 85.0% in 1999 for the first evaluation to 92.5% in 2003 for the second evaluation (P < .001). Six of the 7 indicators showed an improvement in the level of conformity between the first and second evaluations. Conformity was weakest for recording the distance between the tumor and the resection margin (68.2%) and vascular/lymphatic invasion (61.4%) in 1999. Conclusions.—Surveillance of quality of surgical pathology reports, with feedback, is significantly associated with an improvement in the quality of reports.

Microwave Histotechnology Vs Conventional Histotechnology: A Review

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-39
Author(s):  
M Selvamani ◽  
B S Shruthi ◽  
P Vinodh Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Electromagnetic Wave ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Surgical Pathology ◽  
Maximum Output ◽  
Processing Methods ◽  
Temperature Probe ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Wave Induced

ABSTRACT Turnaround time is an important consideration in surgical pathology. Attempts to shorten the time necessary for making a histopathological slide from the surgical tissue has been tried in various ways since many decades without compromising the quality of it. One amongst such attempt is the introduction of microwave to the field of his totechnology. Microwaves, a form of electromagnetic wave induced heat when applied in histotechnology, reproducibly yields histolologic material of similar or superior quality to that provided by conventional processing methods making it more popular in the recent years. A laboratory microwave offers features like maximum output of 2000-3000 watts, an in built source of adjustable temperature probe, facility for ventilation of hazardous fumes, but is expensive. Considering the usefulness of microwave in histotechnology by reducing the time required for the diagnosis, replacing the conventional equipments of laboratories to microwave guided ones is a remarkable and an acceptable change.

Customer Satisfaction in Anatomic Pathology

2003 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Zarbo ◽  
Raouf E. Nakhleh ◽  
Molly Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Performance Improvement ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Physician Satisfaction ◽  
Satisfaction Survey ◽  
Pathology Laboratory ◽  
Anatomic Pathology ◽  
Laboratory Services ◽  
High Level

Abstract Context.—Measurement of physicians' and patients' satisfaction with laboratory services has recently become a requirement of health care accreditation agencies in the United States. To our knowledge, this is the first customer satisfaction survey of anatomic pathology services to provide a standardized tool and benchmarks for subsequent measures of satisfaction. Objective.—This Q-Probes study assessed physician satisfaction with anatomic pathology laboratory services and sought to determine characteristics that correlate with a high level of physician satisfaction. Design.—In January 2001, each laboratory used standardized survey forms to assess physician customer satisfaction with 10 specific elements of service in anatomic pathology and an overall satisfaction rating based on a scale of rankings from a 5 for excellent to a 1 for poor. Data from up to 50 surveys returned per laboratory were compiled and analyzed by the College of American Pathologists. A general questionnaire collected information about types of services offered and each laboratory's quality assurance initiatives to determine characteristics that correlate with a high level of physician satisfaction. Setting.—Hospital-based laboratories in the United States (95.8%), as well as others from Canada and Australia. Participants.—Ninety-four voluntary subscriber laboratories in the College of American Pathologists Q-Probes quality improvement program participated in this survey. Roughly 70% of respondents were from hospitals with occupied bedsizes of 300 or less, 65% were private nonprofit institutions, just over half were located in cities, one third were teaching hospitals, and 19% had pathology residency training programs. Main Outcome Measures.—Overall physician satisfaction with anatomic pathology and 10 selected aspects of the laboratory service (professional interaction, diagnostic accuracy, pathologist responsiveness to problems, pathologist accessibility for frozen section, tumor board presentations, courtesy of secretarial and technical staff, communication of relevant information, teaching conferences and courses, notification of significant abnormal results, and timeliness of reporting). Results.—The database of 3065 physician surveys was derived from 94 laboratories. An average of 32.6 surveys (median 30) was returned per institution, with a range of 5 to 50 surveys per institution. The mean response rate was 35.6% (median 32.5%). The median (50th percentile) laboratory had an overall median satisfaction score of 4.4. The lowest satisfaction scores that were obtained all related to poor communication, which included timeliness of reporting, communication of relevant information, and notification of significant abnormal results. Statistically significant associations of customer satisfaction with certain institutional characteristics and laboratory performance improvement activities were identified. Conclusions.—The importance of this satisfaction survey lies not in its requirement as an exercise for accrediting agencies but in understanding the needs of the customer (in this case the physician) to direct performance improvement in the delivery of quality anatomic pathology laboratory services.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the quality of clinical laboratory services in the University Hospital of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-50
Author(s):  
Chabo Byaene Alain ◽  
◽  
Mabela Matendo Rostin ◽  
Konde Numbi Joël ◽  
Muhindo Mavoko Hypolite ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Laboratory Services ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
The University

The evaluation of the quality of a service is the critical assessment of the degree to which the service, or its component, provides customers’ satisfaction. Monitoring customer satisfaction is an important and useful quality improvement tool for clinical laboratories and health care organizations. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the satisfaction level with laboratory services among attending physicians and to identify factors associated with satisfaction and priorities for quality improvement. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the University Hospital of Kinshasa. Data were collected through a reliable and valid interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed by using SPSS version 21. The correlation between associated factors and customer satisfaction was analyzed using the chi-square test and multivariate regression analysis. The Importance-Performance Analysis was the determinant of improvement priority. The overall level of customers’ satisfaction toward clinical laboratory services in this study was 45.2% with a response rate of 330 (100%). Gender (ORadj = 1.75, 95% CI 1.06, 2.91), Department (ORadj = 3.09, 95% CI 1.50, 6.37) and academic title (ORadj = 6.85, 95% CI 3.51, 8.81) were found to have a statistically significant association with the overall satisfaction. Results accuracy (I = 0.944, P = 4.7), laboratory turnaround time (I = 0.932, P = 4.8), and availability of all the tests requested by physicians (I = 0.917, P = 4.9) were the most important opportunities for quality improvement. The overall level of customers’ satisfaction with laboratory services was low. Thus, the laboratory management must establish preventive and corrective measures to improve the results’ accuracy, reduce the laboratory turnaround time, and ensure the availability of all the tests requested by physicians. Keywords: Customers satisfaction, clinical laboratory, services’ quality, continuous improvement, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

scholarly journals Frozen-Section Checklist Implementation Improves Quality and Patient Safety

2019 ◽  
Vol 151 (6) ◽  
pp. 607-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yigu Chen ◽  
Kevin R Anderson ◽  
Jia Xu ◽  
Jeffrey D Goldsmith ◽  
Yael K Heher
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Frozen Section ◽  
Turnaround Time ◽  
Surgical Pathology ◽  
Quality And Safety ◽  
Data Reporting ◽  
Quality And Patient Safety ◽  
Checklist Implementation

ABSTRACT Objectives An intraoperative consultation (IOC) checklist was developed and implemented aimed at standardizing slide labeling and monitoring metrics central to quality and safety in surgical pathology. Design Data were collected for all IOC cases over a 9-month period. Slide labeling defect rates and IOC turnaround time (TAT) were recorded and compared for the pre- and postimplementation periods. Results In total, 839 IOC cases were analyzed. Preintervention slide labeling showed that 85% of cases contained at least one defect (n = 565). Postintervention data revealed that 27% of cases contained at least one defect (n = 274). The improvement was statistically significant (P < .001). Mean TAT was 21.6 minutes preintervention vs 23.2 minutes postintervention, and the change was insignificant (P = .071). Conclusions The implementation of a standardized IOC reduced slide labeling error. This improvement did not affect mean TAT and may have the increased quality of IOC TAT data reporting. Other metrics affecting patient safety and quality were monitored and standardized.

Continuous-Specimen-Flow, High-Throughput, 1-Hour Tissue Processing

2002 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 583-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azorides R. Morales ◽  
Harold Essenfeld ◽  
Ervin Essenfeld ◽  
Maria Carmen Duboue ◽  
Vladimir Vincek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conventional Method ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Processing Method ◽  
Surgical Pathology ◽  
Tissue Processing ◽  
Tissue Sections ◽  
Pathology Reports ◽  
Rapid Processing ◽  
New System

Abstract Context.—Current conventional tissue-processing methods employ fixation of tissues with neutral buffered formalin, dehydration with alcohol, and clearing with xylene before paraffin impregnation. Because the time required for this procedure is usually 8 hours or longer, it is customary to process tissues in automated instruments throughout the night. Although this time-honored method continues to serve histology laboratories well, it has a number of shortcomings, such as a 1-day delay of diagnosis, the need to batch specimens, the relatively large volumes and toxicity of reagents used, and the extent of RNA degradation. Objective.—To describe a rapid new method of tissue processing using a continuous-throughput technique. Design.—We used a combination of common histologic reagents, excluding formalin and xylene, as well as microwave energy, to develop a rapid processing method. The effect of this method on the quality of histomorphology, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and RNA content of processed tissue was compared with that of adjacent tissue sections processed by the conventional processing technique. We also assessed the impact of this rapid processing system on our practice by comparing the turnaround times of surgical pathology reports before and after its implementation. Results.—The new processing method permitted preparation of paraffin blocks from fresh or prefixed tissue in about 1 hour. The procedure allowed continuous flow of specimens at 15-minute intervals. It eliminated the use of formalin and xylene in the processing and used considerably lower volumes of other chemical reagents. Histomorphologic, histochemical, and immunohistochemical results were comparable to the parallel sections prepared by the conventional method. The new technique, however, preserved higher quality RNA. Use of the new methodology led to the diagnosis and reporting of more than one third of surgical pathology specimens on the same day that they were received, as compared to 1% of same-day reporting before the implementation of the rapid processing system. Conclusion.—The quality of hematoxylin-eosin, histochemical, and immunohistochemical tissue sections provided by the new system is comparable to that obtained following the conventional processing method. The new system preserves RNA better than the conventional method. It also shortens the processing time to about 1 hour from the receipt of fresh or prefixed tissue, eliminates the need for formalin and xylene, and reduces the volume of other chemicals. Most importantly, it impacts overall patient management by allowing for considerably shorter turnaround times for completion of surgical pathology reports.

Technical notes on routine TEM procedures

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 630-631
Author(s):  
K. Chien ◽  
R.L. Van de Velde ◽  
R.C. Heusser
Keyword(s):  
Epoxy Resins ◽  
Pathology Laboratory ◽  
Silicone Fluid ◽  
Image Position

Sectioning quality of epoxy resins can be improved by the addition of a 1% silicone 200 fluid (Dow Corning), however this produces a softer block. To compensate, a harder plastic has been used for embedding various tissues encountered in our pathology laboratory. Exact amounts of the plastic mixture can be directly made up for embedding as shown: The chart reveals a Poly/Bed 812 (WPE 145) to anhydride ratio of 1:0.7 and a NMA to DDSA ratio of 7:3. 1% silicone fluid is added to above mixtures.Due to impurities within the DDSA and NMA, the polymerized epoxy blocks vary in darkness and appear to affect sectioning quality. After discussing this problem with Polysciences Inc., they have agreed to purify their anhydrides in an effort to standardize the consistency of the plastic.

Customer’s satisfaction on service quality at Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank – An Giang Branch

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. First
Author(s):  
Tran Minh Hieu ◽  
Nguyen Duong Ngoc Mai Chi
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Quality Of Services ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Alpha Reliability ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Development Orientation

This study applied SERVQUAL scale of Parasuraman et al to measure factors affecting customer satisfaction on service quality at Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank - An Giang Branch (Techcombank An Giang). The study was conducted to survey 207 customers who have been using the service at Techcombank An Giang. The survey results were analyzed by the Cronbach's Alpha reliability test method, then used Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to verify and evaluate the scale of service quality. The results of the regression analysis show that customer's satisfaction about service quality at Techcombank An Giang includes four factors: The factor with the highest level is the Empathy with Beta = 0.253, the second of factor is the Responsibility with Beta = 0.248, ranked third in the influence level is the Tangible with Beta = 0.235, and the lowest impact level is the Reliability with Beta = 0.144. The research also uses statistical methods to describe and test the differences of demographic factors with customer's satisfactionon service quality.The analysis results show that there is no difference between customer's satisfaction on service quality and factors such as gender, age, income, number of transaction banks, regular transaction banks, and time to use the service at Techcombank An Giang. Through the research results, the author would like to propose some ideas to improve the quality of services, thereby attracting new customers and importantly, keeping traditional customers because the development orientation of Techcombank is to take care of old customers to cross sell other products of the bank. The Stud results offer a basis for the branch to identify the factors influencing customer satisfaction on their service quality, thereby having an appropriate strategy to improve customer satisfaction.

Pengaruh Kualitas Pelayanan Terhadap Kepuasan Nasabah Tabungan Britama Pada Bank BRI Cabang Fatmawati

Liquidity ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-80
Author(s):  
Viva Faronika ◽  
Asriyal Asriyal
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Acceptable Level ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Level Of Satisfaction ◽  
Service Policies ◽  
Improve Service Quality ◽  
Relationship Of

If the customer is greater than acceptable level of service, the cutomer is not satisfied. Conversely, if an acceptable level of service greater than the expectations of customers, the customer will be satisfied. This means that if Bank BRI branch Fatmawati can improve service quality to its customer it will affect the level of satisfaction. In this research found evidence that, in terms of the creation of quality services, Bank BRI branch Fatmawati is one of the branches that participate to implement the established policies and service in accordance with the exiting service standard in the banking world. Amount of influence the determination of quality of service policies applied by the Bank BRI branch Fatmawati indicated by r2. r2 value only 45 % and the rest 55 % influenced by other variables not studied. Meanwhile, the variable relationship of service quality to customer satisfaction can be seen from the values r = 0,67. This shows the value of the correlation coefficient between the variables of service quality to customer satisfaction. This means there are strong relationships between the independent variable X (quality of service) to the dependent variable Y (customer satisfaction). Since r = 0,67 (67 %) greater then 50 %.

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